Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
TechSoup Global
TechSoup Global is a nonprofit organization under the 501(c)(3) regulations. It
was started in 1987 in San Francisco, California, by Daniel Ben-Horin under
the name The ComputerMentor Project. The organization changed its name to
TechSoup Global in 2008, becoming another of the hundreds of software and sup-
port companies and organizations to have multiple names as it grew.
This organization is itself a nonprofit, and its mission is to support other non-
profits and charitable organizations by providing donations of software, com-
puters, and other technologies, charging only a small administrative fee. The
TechSoup organization also supports libraries. Many charitable organizations are
staffed by volunteer workers and have small budgets for computing and software
resources, but they are vital to their operations.
Nonprofits in Computing and Software
As an example, my wife, Eileen, is deaf but has cochlear implants
that restored her hearing. She started a nonprofit foundation called
the Gift of Hearing Foundation (GOHF) to help make cochlear im-
plants available to those without insurance, especially small chil-
dren. The entire board operates on a volunteer basis.
Much of the work of GOHF involves databases of clients, hos-
pitals, surgeons, audiologists, insurance companies, and other asso-
ciations who aid the deaf and hard of hearing. In order to assist an
uninsured patient in receiving a cochlear implant, at least a dozen
groups need to be contacted and agree to work together. There
are numerous forms, applications, and other documents involved.
Without computers and software, the manual effort devoted to pa-
perwork might cost almost as much as a cochlear implant itself.
The original name of ComputerMentor was apt because the founder and his
colleagues did provide mentoring and training to nonprofit personnel who needed
computers and software but were not trained in software engineering or technical
skills. Although it started as a local organization in California, TechSoup grew and
expanded so that in the current decade, it supports nonprofits and charitable groups
in 190 countries.
As mentioned several times in this topic, major software companies have cre-
ated enormous wealth, and quite a few have decided to use some of that wealth for
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